The ability of insulin to mediate glucose uptake varies widely among normal non-diabetic individuals with normal blood pressure. The degree to which increases in dietary cholesterol intake raise plasma cholesterol concentrations also varies widely in similar populations. The risk for coronary heart disease increases in women as they become postmenopausal and it is not clear what dietary recommendations should be given to them. The goal of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that the ability of dietary cholesterol to increase plasma cholesterol concentration will be accentuated in postmenopausal women defined as being insulin resistant as compared to those women who were insulin sensitive.